Letters to the Editor

The blackout

It's surprising to hear our politicians talk about normality or abnormality. Normal or abnormal in relation to what? In the midst of a Monday with a general power outage across the state, can we say that "normality is returning" when most of us had no power? Our house was powered up after midnight. And five days later we still didn't have internet, and we won't have it until a technician comes to replace the router that's burned out.

Driving that Monday without traffic lights was reckless, but a lot of us had no choice if we wanted to get home. And thank goodness we were able to sleep. Many couldn't because they were trapped in all kinds of situations, from train stations that stopped working or, even more terrible, inside elevators.

We need more sensitivity in our treatment of citizens and more competence so that an event like Monday's general blackout doesn't happen again. Meanwhile, we will continue to wait for the normality that so many politicians of all stripes preach, albeit with increasing caution and distrust.

Eulalia Rodríguez Pitarque

Torroella de Montgrí

Decrease

We debate the causes of the blackout, whether it will happen again, whether we deserve it, with spurious political and technical debates. And we ignore the most important thing: our way of life is leading us to this, and if we also electrify the vehicle fleet and boilers, the next one will be worse. We cannot continue to grow; we must decrease, but not as the leftist elites have done recently, with Barcelona as an example, with disastrous results—elitist green capitalism—but in a real way. There is no need to ask whether the airport should be expanded; the airport must decrease. Tourism must decrease, not a little, but a lot. Fairs must be reduced or eliminated, not expanded. Tourists and expats cannot live at our expense. This has only been a warning.

Polo Amat

Barcelona

Non-Catholic Churches at Pope Francis' funeral

In the broadcast of Pope Francis's funeral, TV3 highlighted the presence of personalities and authorities from various governments and states. Not a word was said about the ecclesiastical representatives of various Churches and denominations. The highest representative of the Orthodox Church, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartomeu, was there; moreover, a close friend of Pope Francis.

But all the Orthodox patriarchates were also represented: Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Georgia... and also the Patriarch of Moscow, in the person of the person responsible for foreign relations. Other non-patriarchal Churches were also present: Cyprus, Albania, Greece. Also present were hierarchs from the Armenian Church, the Syriac Church, the Assyrian Church of the East, the Coptic Church, the Ethiopian Church, the Malankara Church, and the Church of India. But there were also representatives from the Reformation: the Anglican Communion, Methodists, Lutherans, Waldensians, the Baptist World Alliance, and the World Council. These representatives of the various Churches were grouped just behind the cardinals, and it must be said that they were quite distinguishable, most of them wearing black habits, along with the redness of the cardinals. But TV3 probably didn't see them, or perhaps didn't even know what it was about. A fully ecumenical event, with so many Christian representatives from various Churches meeting, it didn't merit TV3's attention. Forgetfulness? Or ignorance?

The same could happen with the enthronement of the new Pope, although the representatives of the Churches will surely be fewer in number; but they will be there. Will there be an amendment?

Sebastián Janeras

Vice President of the Ecumenical Center of Catalonia